And following the bird theme...

This week I have started working in earnest on my drawings for 'Dae Ye Ken?' (a book of Scottish words being published this year). This is a local Sea-Maw sitting on a local litter bin. I swear the seagulls up here are reaching giant proportions. The ones on my street show no fear and are quite environmentally friendly in that they clean up after the school kids!

And here is the Isle of May for anyone who is interested...

Linn sketching. The birds and fellow creatures on the island are not afraid of people and make great subjects.
A view out to sea...

A Puffin

Last year Linn and I went on a trip to the Isle of May to see the puffin breeding colony. The island is famous as a sanctuary for many wild birds- some of them endangered. We got there on a very small boat through a very violent sea and there was a general feeling of nausea throughout. The island itself was beautiful and even the sun decided to put in an appearance. The puffins were lovely little birds, looking extremely odd and ungainly in flight and having the most amazing colouring on their beaks. I hope that the current Bird Flu fears will not prevent others from visiting and seeing the good work being done by those responsible for protecting the island and its inhabitants.

Illustration Friday- 'Speed'

The jet propelled ThrustSSC reached a speed of 1,227 km/h on October 15th 1997. It was the first land vehicle to break the sound barrier and was built by a British team. Incredible huh?

It is cold, wet and windy in Edinburgh today so I'd recommend staying indoors. I went out to buy some butter and teabags and lost all feeling in my ears and my forehead. I also forgot to take my umbrella...

Illustration Friday- 'Monster'

Haven't had time to post on here this week, hence my Illustration Friday submission going up a week late! I've been doing research for my book of Scottish words, Dae Ye Ken? , all week and hopefully I can get started on the drawings soon and get it finished for August (when it should be published!!).

I didn't search for a difficult angle for this project as I felt like drawing some plain old monsters. I particularly like Bigfoot's lips...

Illustration Friday- 'Feet'

I've tried to do something a little different here and removed the black lines from my drawings. I think it actually works and I'm going to try and do this more often. Can't write much today as in a rush!

Your Planet Needs You

A link to the 'Your Planet Needs You' site was on the AOI Discussion board. It seems these guys have a mission to inform people about the state of the planet and make a difference. They are calling for creatives to come up with a selection of images highlighting various bits of text. Take a look at the brief here if you fancy a go...

The Da Vinci Code

I've been following the Dan Brown court case with some interest, as an illustrator the legal side to the ownership of ideas is crucial. As a maker of images I am inspired by everything around me, things I hear, see and read about. At what point could it be said that I have not been inspired by something but simply copied it? I find it confusing sometimes, for example today I drew the Mona Lisa. Obviously Leonardo Da Vinci has already drawn it but my version is about the painting and the court case and the novel, not just a copy of the image. Hmmm...

Illustration Friday- 'Tattoo'

If you fancy going this year take a look at the official 2006 website. I'm going to add a disclaimer here as I may have been creative with my tartan and I don't want to offend anyone so apologies for any errors!

Hairdo Suspension

Another odd news story. The boys in question had apparently been told about the school's policy regarding hair length and were suspended for a week. The article doesn't state whether or not they cut their hair in the end and how the issue was resolved.

Day Trip

This one is for Mark Higgins, my best buddy from Art Foundation. We spent a fun year being creative and rambling around the country in my Fiat Uno. I woke up one morning and realised I had an interview at Falmouth that afternoon so I rang Mark, packed some snacks and we set off. It takes 5 hours and 49 minutes to get to Falmouth from Hampshire according to the AA, I think that is about right. I had to call the college in the end and tell them I'd be late. I got the place (but later decided to go to Edinburgh anyway) and we had a quick drink in a local pub (coke for me because I was driving), got stared at by local people, played pool and then headed home...Higgins slept most of the way back and we ran out of petrol at Basingstoke...

Presumably scales too...

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 62 percent of men and 45 percent of women in Australia are now overweight or obese. Standards Australia has recommended "an increase in the strength of toilet seats to accommodate the increasing size of humans".

Baa baa Black Sheep

My Dad pointed this one out to me. The nursery believed that 'Baa baa black sheep' may cause offence so it seems that sheep now come in psychedelic colours but not in black. Personally I think this is insane. Sheep are generally to be found in whites, greys, browns and blacks and all the shades inbetween.

Pussycat, pussycat...

There seems to be much dispute as to the meanings behind nursery rhymes. The general consensus regarding 'Pussycat, pussycat' seems to be that it may refer to an actual event and a cat owned by a member of Queen Elizabeth the First's household. There also seems to be a Scottish version that possibly refers to the relationship between Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots....

Poussie, poussie, baudrons, where hae ye been?
I've been to London, seeing the Queen.
Poussie, poussie, baudrons, what got ye there?
I got a guid fat mousikie, rinning up a stair.
Poussie, poussie, baudrons, what did ye do wi't?
I put it in my meal-poke, to eat it to my bread.

A Shocking Statistic

I think I heard that Scotland's children are at the highest risk. I could start a rant about how when I was a kid we played outside from the end of school till tea time and then begged to be let out until bedtime too. How we used to build treehouses and ride around on our BMX's and play tag. How we had to eat the green stuff on our plate before we were allowed dessert. But I won't.

Illustration Friday- 'Insect'

I'm working on illustrating a selection of nursery rhymes at the moment. They have such fun imagery and I love the fact that many of them are so old and steeped in tradition. Some of them describe historical events or make political comments, yet we all learn them as children even if we don't have a clue what they mean. I think it has something to do with the patterns the words make and the comforting rhythms that make them so popular with little kids.

Using Illustrator and Live Trace

I had a go scanning one of my drawings into Illustrator CS2 and using Live Trace. I feel that some of the detail was lost along the way but it certainly gives a more even line width. I'm going to try and use Illustrator more in the future although for me Photoshop feels more comfortable- but hey I can't go getting complacent!

Being Honest

Adam suggested this on the train to Glasgow on Friday. I've nicked it and made it into an illustration as it just stayed in my head. Today has been a busy day paperwork wise and I just had to draw something before I started forgetting what it is exactly that I do for a living!

Image Nation Catalogue

For the amazingly cheap price of £9.99 you can get yourself a copy of the exhibition catalogue containing images from 93 Contemporary Scottish Illustrators!

Image Nation Exhibition

Friday night was the preview for the Image Nation Exhibition in Glasgow. My work is amongst the work of 93 other fellow Scottish illustrators and I must say the standard was pretty high. It was great to see what everyone was up to and to catch up with old friends that I hadn't seen for a long time. My thanks to the Collins Gallery and it's staff for providing the opportunity for such a gathering and congratulations to the prizewinners!